I've printed my futuristic (67000 words) and am working my way back through the story to tighten and proof. Every pass of a manuscript shows you something else about the work and that's where I am at the moment. I thought my first three chapters were done, but out of the blue I had some feedback that has thrown me into a spin.

So back to the drawing board I go. Changing something so early in the book has implications right through to the last chapter. The book I thought was nearly done is now undergoing another major revision. Wish me luck.

Quite unexpectedly I'm moving house. Queue hours and hours of decluttering prior to packing. While cleaning out the hall cupboard I came across the few things I have left from my school years and I was very surprised to find this little gem - The Runaway Jellybeans.

Thirty years ago (OMG I just did the maths!) I did a children's literature elective while in year eleven at high school and this is the result. Written and illustrated by me, self-published by me (a Spirax Sketch pad) and entered into my first ever writing competition, where it was Highly Commended.

Thirty years down the track I think the the writing is woeful. Too many dialog tags, one dimensional characters, weak plot but I see it has a theme (being happy with what you have and not coveting other people's belongings) and the illustration is quite good, given I can't draw at all. As I re-read it, I remembered spending a lot of time looking at the furniture and the walls to try and get the perspective right. This was produced in the days before word processors and clipart and photo books. And when having jellybeans in a child's bedroom wasn't wrong. Gee times have changed.

The question now is what to do with it. Do I pack it with my school magazines (and yes, I was also on the school magazine team) and keep it another 30 years, or do I sadly bade it farewell and send it to the recycle bin.... Decisions...Decisions....

We're now one quarter of the way through 2014 and I thought it was time to have a look at my list of "101 things to do in 2014" and see how I am progressing.

It's not looking great. If I do this again, I'll make sure I make each entry a discrete single item - "Practice photography every week" is not working for me.

On the positive - I've ticked off visits to Alma Park Zoo, Redcliffe, Afghanistan exhibit at museum and Wynnum and a few others like buying a new album and my grand total so far is nine complete and one removed because the business closed down. Of course, when I made the list I had no idea I'd be repairing fences after a bushfire or moving house of any of the thousand other things that have popped up so far this year.

To catch up, I've scheduled three things already for April - the Anzac Dawn service, Planting and mulching the front garden and making a visit to the Autumn leaves on the Granite belt. There are a few other that should be easy to tick off e.g. Buy the dogs an ice-cream and teach the dogs a trick. Hopeful that by end of June I'll be a lot closer to the halfway mark.

Wish me luck.

Fiona Greene Author

"A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step." Join me as I travel the road to publication and beyond.